Taking Responsibility

We see it every time….a disaster or calamity occurs and people then demand to know why the state or federal government or whoever isn’t helping the people. After the damage, they are looking for someone to restore power, establish communications, and provide security from looters.

What if I told you every one of those things could be handled for you BY YOU? That’s our responsibility. There is even some Tactical Wisdom about that:

…if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head.  Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves.

Ezekiel 33:4-5

You see, God is pointing out that it is YOU who is responsible for heeding the trumpet call. Whether it is a weather warning, paying attention to the path of wildfires, or whatever, it is up to YOU to prepare to handle it.

But how can we prepare for every possible calamity? Easy, by focusing on what the second and third order effects are. I can’t stop a hurricane or nuclear war, but I can prepare for the effects of it. First, I can have a supply of food and water. I can have building supplies for repair. I can have available solar panels and battery backups to restore my own electricity. I can have a radio communications plan with my neighbors or family. I can develop a security plan for my home or neighborhood.

I can even, dare I say it, develop plans to deal with an over-protective government after an event. For example, I can develop plans to bypass the checkpoints and roadblocks to get into and out of my own property. Sure, the government and I have an interest in keeping the looters out, but they generally do this by keeping EVERYONE out. Have a plan to circumvent that. There is nothing illegal about occupying your own property, in case you were wondering. The word “EMERGENCY” doesn’t ever invalidate the Constitution or your rights, but I digress.

First, ensure that you have enough shelf-stable food to get you through a disaster. Some think is a two week supply, some think 10 years. Based upon the situation on the ground in western North Carolina today, I’d suggest 3-6 months at a minimum. Among that, you need a PORTABLE 14-day supply. This ensures that if you have evacuate (‘bug out”), you can take the food needed with you and not be reliant on handouts or anyone else. That’s the first thing, before even security. Yes, really. If you can’t maintain the strength to defend yourself, it won’t matter how much you spent on your cool-guy rifle and the hottest chest rig on Instagram.

Next, you need power generation. Generators are a great tool, but they are LOUD which will draw attention to the fact that you have power and everyone else doesn’t. They also require fuel, which will be hard to get out of the ground. A solar generator is silent and can be hidden. I recommend a good sized battery with at least a 200 watt panel. Smaller panels charge the battery too slowly. Find out how much power is needed to run the essentials in your house or planned location. Just the essentials; your TV is not essential, despite what we saw during the LA fire evacuations.

Develop a workable and realistic communications plan. By realistic I mean that while keeping in touch with family 600 miles away is nice, it’s not as essential as tracking down and staying in touch with group and family members in the immediate danger area. You can do this with inexpensive UHF/VHF radios. UHF is better for short-range urban use and VHF is better for longer-range rural use, but neither is really going to get you more than 5 or 6 miles at a maximum with handhelds. You can increase this with higher-powered base station or mobile radios and higher/taller entennas, but they are still local communications only. Develop a plan and carry radios NOW.

Once you have these things in place, it’s time to set up a protection plan to help you defend it. Every neighborhood or location is different, but you need a plan to control entry and patrol the area. TW-03 Defensive Operations will help.

The key is to make a plan and start putting it into action. Commit right now to being more prepared than the people you keep seeing on TV. Put in the effort and make sure that you are heeding the warning.

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